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More please

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With the south in full rebellion, the goblins stirring on the northern frontier, and the summer capital being run by a corrupt baron and a gang of thugs, things could be better. But those aren’t the worst of her problems: Pentandra is learning how to live with her new husband, Arborn, while the town is driven to distraction by an incarnate sex goddess who is organizing all of the whores, a mopey spellmonger, a nun addicted to gambling, a prude sent by the queen, undead skulking through the shadows, and a mysterious blind girl shows up in her office claiming to be her new apprentice.

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Six years had passed since the redoubtable knight Sparhawk had triumphed over the evil God Azash and returned to Elenia with Queen Ehlana, his bride. And now a new danger had arisen to threaten the peace of Ehlana's realm. The trouble had started quietly. At home, bandits began to plague the hill country. In neighboring Lamorkand, the customary political unrest turned ominous with whispers that the bloody heroes of old soon would rise again.

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Pronunciations changed on purpose?

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Sparhawk, the Pandion Knight and Queen's Champion, returns from a long spell of exile to find his native land overrun with evil and intrigue, and his young Queen grievously ill. Indeed, Ehlana lies magically entombed within a block of crystal, doomed to die unless a cure can be found within a year.

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Cowboy Knights

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Summary

New York Times best seller

Since the death of the Druid Allanon, the Four Lands have changed profoundly, with magic strictly forbidden in the Southland, now under totalitarian rule. Yet Par still has some power of the Wishsong. When he accidently brings a mythic horror to life, a man calling himself Cogline drives it away. Cogline brings a message from Allanon: venture to the dread Hadeshorn, along with the other Scions of Shannara. For in the future, all life in the Four Lands will be destroyed. To prevent this terrible fate, Allanon commands Par to recover the long-lost Sword of Shannara, a task that is next to impossible.

Listen to a sample first

I had to quit this audio book after barely 5 minutes of listening to the narrator.Sadly to me at least, it was a jarring and stilted performance that hugely detracted from the book itself.Listen to a sample first to decide for yourself.

Another great book from Terry Brooks.

The book is just great. The pace, descriptives and the overall story can't be faulted.

The performance let it down though. Although John Lee has a lovely tone to his voice the pause on commas was a bit excessive which made it hard to follow in places as it sounded more like a new sentance pause. For example a sentence could read "they were exhausted, too tired to speak. Par laid there...." but it sounds like "they were exhausted. Too tired to speak par laid there...". Although this is a poor example it did, at times, make following the story difficult as sentences took on new meanings. And some sentences were over punctuated and emphasised. By this I mean each word was pronounced almost,, as a separate sentence. One. Word. At. A. Time. It became very tedious. I really want to listen to the rest of the series but am not sure I can put up with the performance, such a shame.

Killed By Narrator.

In printed format, Yes, I would recommend this and the other books in the series. In Audio format, NO. Not unless they re-recored them with a different, more capable narrator.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It has been decades since I read these books, and I didn't listen long enough to this audio version, to either make a decision, or remember any of the characters from the books.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of John Lee?

Andrew Wincott. Rupert Degas. Simon Vance. There are many good narrators out there. In my opinion Mr Lee isn't one of them..

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Not sure. It would depend on the cast.

Any additional comments?

This is just one more of my favorite books tortured to death by an awful narrator. Its depressing to think of all the books I would have loved to listen to, that I just can't stand to hear, thanks to the wrong people reading them. I've already tried and returned the first three books of the Shannara Series, as they too were ruined by another poor narrator.

What goes around comes around

The flavour and intensity of the previous books maintained, and I like the fact that the exact underlying cause of all the scion troubles is kept concealed.

Sort by:

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Neill

12-07-16

The best of Shannara.

I've been a Brooks fan since I read Sword of Shannara at age 12 in 1991 on vacation. I didn't put the book down the entire drive. I love the world and the characters.

Some years later I discovered books on tape and my audio book life began. Since I discovered Audible, I've been hoping this four book Heritage of Shannara series would receive the full, unabridged treatment (an abridged book is an appalling blasphemy).

I couldn't be more pleased with the results. If you wish to pick apart some oft-used or too-familiar fantasy tropes in this series, you can certainly do so. Good on you and I hope it makes you feel smugly pleased with yourself. But, if you genuinely love Brooks's Shannara world with all its rich life and wonderfully familiar groups like the Leahs, Ohmsfords, Druids, Elves, Rock Trolls, Dwarves and all the familiar landscapes, lineages and a beautiful and reliable narrative with enough changes to stand apart from past series, then you owe it to yourself to listen to these books and immerse yourself in the stories.

The narration is just right, neither dominating the tone nor detracting from the story. It is inviting and at no point forces you out of the Four Lands.

I always loved this series for the separate but equal storylines followed in the four books. I can't wait to begin The Druid and follow it immediately with The Elf Queen. This is a must-listen for Brooks fans.

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

David

27-08-16

Exiting, very well paced epic story

Definitely a bit dark but a wonderfully written story that is very well read by John Lee. The story is clearly a setup for the reminder of the books in this series but sets up the characters and the storyline nicely. Unlike a lot of YA books in this genre, these characters have depth and are very vulnerable at times. The author's world building is pretty good and continues to develop as the story and series continues. It is the classic good versus evil but a very good story with interesting plot twists and main characters struggling with their own doubts and whether they have the courage to do the right thing. Very well done, especially for a first book in a new series.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

1 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

1 out of 5 stars

Judy

04-03-19

narration is not smooth. Makes you nervous listeni

narration is not smooth. The voice is very choppy and makes it difficult to understand the near Raider. Not impressed with this book did not get my attention. Stopped listening after 3 chapters.

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Joseph Atkins

22-01-19

great story, audio not so much

a great story, and the speaker is great, the audio cuts off his words and makes it hard to understand sometimes, like the last syllable is super quiet.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Anonymous User

02-11-18

Well Done

Can’t wait to start book 2! Love the way I will get to experience the characters for more than a single novel. The last 2 chapters will have you chomping for the next book.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Tyler Wilson

04-10-18

Great narration

I love these books and I'm excited to listen to them all. On to the next one

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Christy Bohrer

01-10-18

amazing story

It is so easy to get lost in Terry Brooks stories. This book will grip you right from the start.

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

casejoe

03-08-18

narrator

The narrator sounds great while voicing the characters but when narrating other parts his cadence and emphasis on certain words takes some getting used to.

Overall

2 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

ConSeanery700

04-07-18

Great story, didn't like the narrator

Felt like it was being narrated by William Shatner with the awkward and abrupt pauses.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Jim

29-04-18

Great book!

I read this book 20 years ago and it is every bit as compelling as read by John Lee as it was by myself all those years ago.